Improvement in sheep-shears



P. HARLOW.

Sheep-Shears.

0,166,772, Patented Aug.17,1875.

N-PETZRS. PNOTD-UTNOGRMIIIER. WASHINGTON. l1v C.

UNITED STATES PATENT Qrrion. v

PHILANDER HARLOW, OF HYDE PARK, MASSACHUSETTS. I

IMPROVEMENT IN SHEEP-SHEARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 166,772, dated August17, 1875; application filed May 4, 1875.

ful Improvements in SheepShears, of which the following is aspecification:

The nature of my invention consists in making shears with the upper andlower plates or arms having the requisite number of teeth of the properform to penetrate and cut the wool from live sheep, and to do so withoutcutting the sheep at the same time that the wool iscut, of even lengthover the body of the sheep by the operation of the shears.

These shears are intended to be attached to any suitable device forobtaining rapid reciprocating motion and imparting it to the uppercutter-in other words, to be used as powershears, in order that theutmost rapidity of action and result may be obtained; but the cuttersare equally applicable to hand-shears.

The drawings, in connection with the following description, are intendedto explain the nature of myinvention.

Similar letters in the difierent figures represent the same parts.

Figure 1 is a top view of the shears, which consist of a lower plate, A,having teeth or shear-arms cut in one end, and is attached firmly to therod and plate 0 5 also an upper plate, B, having teeth or shear-arms cutin the same end with the teeth in the under plate A. This plate B isfirmly fastened to a holder, D, which oscillates upon the stationaryshaft 0 as a center. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the shears,held flat upon the sheep, and in this position giving in operation theclosest cut of the wool. Fig. 3 is also a vertical sectional view of theshears, held with the points of the lower plate on the sheep, and theheel of the cutter raised, by which the length of the wool left on thesheep is increased. Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view ofthe form of the tooth or sheararm in the lower plate A; and Fig. 5 is avertical transverse sectional view of the tooth or shear-arm in thelower plate A, at the first point of contact between the lower plate Aand the upper plate-B.

The vital part of my invention consists inthe form of the tooth orshear-arm in the lower In order that theobject I accomplish may be morefully understood I desire to recite the peculiarities of shearing woolfrom live sheep. First, the skin of the live sheep is to the utmostdegree tender, the slightest pressure of a rough or sharp pointpenetrating it. Second, the Wool grows so thickly and closely togetheras to render it difficult of penetration by more than one point atatime. Third, the

skin of the live sheep lies loosely upon the body, and the slighteststrain upon the wool made by forcing in improperly constructed or shapedcutters will draw the skin into and between the arms of the shears.Fourth, the large percentage of sheep havelarge wrinkles of skin, notonly on the neck, but all over the body, from which the wool must besheared, and which are liable to be out by any device now known forshearing.

The under plate of the shears by which I overcome these dit'ficultiesisconstructed as follows: A piece of sheet-steel from one-tenth toone-eighth of an inch in thickness and two inches wide, has at one end aseries of teeth or shear-arms cut in a suitable manner. These teeth mayvary in number from ten to thirteen, equally distributed, said variationin number depending upon the closeness of the wool to be sheared.Loosely-growing Wool can be sheared with more teeth in the plate thanclose-growing wool; but varying the number of teeth either less or morethan the above will be a disadvantage on any wool. These teeth areformed as in Fig. 4, being straight, or nearly so, on the top out to theextreme point, and rounding from the point back to the heel of thecutter on the bottom. They are to bound the openings between them attheir top edges with parallel sides, so'that when they enter the woolthere will be no continued lateral pressure 'on the wool by wedgin g itfarther between the teeth, the first resistance of entering being allthere is to overcome, that being confined to the forcing apart of thewool at the points of the cutter. A slight variation in the shape of thetooth, as shown at letter a, Fig. 1, will not prevent the operation; butteeth giving parallel spaces between them are better. The teeth of thelower cutter-plate A should be as thin as they can be made so as to notspring when in operation. A thirty-second part of an inch in thick-;ness will be found to be the best; but slightlythicker when used onloosely-growing wool will operate perfectly well. The ends of theseteeth should be rounded, and no sharp edge should be left that canscratch the'skin under any ordinary pressure used. From the top edge ofthe teeth to the bottom resting on the "sheep,-theyshould be reduced byconverging 'sides'to as thin' an edge as possible and not cut the skin,as shown in Fig. 5; and this shape should be carriedjall the way alongthe or 'tenderto prevent the wrinkles of 'the skin coming'in contactwith the vibrating upper;

cutter B, the' teeth'of the lower cutter A should 5 be "carried outbeyond the'poin'ts of the upper:

cutterB at least one=fourth of ani'nch. The= skin willthen roll over thetop of theflower. cutter-points, butwill yield and roll on before theslanting lower edges of the lower cutterf points before reaching theupper cutter-points. The shape of the teeth in the uppercutten plate Bis not material to the operation of my invention. They will operatebetter to have the same number of teeth as the lower plate A,- audit iseasier to make them saw-tooth shapeybut'th'ey will operate with littleperinvention.

The advantage of my invention consists in being able to shearwool-fromany live sheep, closely to the skin, with rapidity, and withoutcutting the sheep, which cannot be done with any other multi-pointedshears.

I claim- I 1 In multi-pointed sheep-,shears, a lower cuttenplate havingthin blades projecting asfa guardfbey'ond the upper .eutterplate, saidblades being-thrilled sled-runner shape on the under side tow'ard' theends, each blade-narrowing vertically to aknife-edge from the cutting;edge downward, and forming, spaces,

paralleh'or'nearly so, between the blades from the ends to the point ofimpact with-the'points of the uppercutter plate. 1 v

PHILANDER HARLOW. Witnesses;

.W- ROU GEO. L. HARLOW.

